Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Dining In: Durham, NC - East Coast Chinese Food Express

Anyone who knows us in Durham will have definitely heard of the chinese place inside the Krogers (no, not next to the Kroger, inside of it). This is our go-to Asian food place when we are too lazy to drive to Cary or Raleigh. With prices that can't be beat and fairly spot on flavors - why not have some chinese takeout? 

I was highly skeptical on my first visit since this place is seriously inside the Kroger grocery store next to the Coinstar and the feminine hygiene products. But, those who have been brave enough to order from here have not been disappointed. 

They have various items written only in Chinese, which I have my parents decipher each time that they visit. Otherwise, you can point at the random pictures or English names of dishes that most commonly grace the menus of chinese take out places. The husband wife duo have been here for 11 years, which must mean something. 




Salt and pepper pork ribs. 


Sichuan Chicken and Eggplant. 


Hong Kong Style Wonton Soup.



**Edit

The Husband was sad that there was no happy statement so here goes: 

Have a happy Memorial Day weekend. Thank you for all our service men and women who have fought to keep us safe and free. 

No posts for a while as we'll be in AUSTIN! 

Friday, May 20, 2011

Dining In: Nashville, TN

The Nashville food scene is not one that we extensively researched before heading out there so we kind of randomly stumbled upon several great eateries and coffee shops. My top favorite was Crema. A fabulous local coffee shop with delicious coffee offerings. We had the cuban and the vietnamese coffees. YUM-O. 



2. Cupcake Collection. Cupcakes for $1.65 and there was a massive line to get them.



3. Marche Artisan Foods. A beautiful cafe, bakery, and bistro with a delicious quinoa salad. Definitely going to try to make this at home. 



4. I Dream of Weenie. It wasn't open, but I dreamed of hot dogs. 


5. Pied Piper Ice Cream. This place reminds me of the little ice cream shops in Austin. 



6. The Cocoa Tree. Chocolate confections galore. 




7. Kalamata's. Lip-smacking good Mediterranean food in the middle of Nashville. Who knew? 



8. Rumba. Asian fusion. Great ambience, innovative drinks, and average food. 




All in all, a great view of Nashville. Honky tonks and all. This trip really made me miss Austin, which is perfect as we head out there in a couple of weeks!!! 


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Weekend in Nashville

Our girls trip to Nashville was filled with food, food, and you guessed it more food. It was fabulous until we got delayed 5 hours in the Nashville airport on the way back. Naturally, I was too tired to post anything until today. 

Here are some of my favorite (non-food) shots from the trip.

1. Parthenon Replica


2. Beautiful tree next to Parthenon


3. Our sweet ride


4. Necklaces that I totally thought about buying, but decided against... (now regretting it). I love the cleaver! 


5. Do you know who this is at the Grand Ole Opry? 


6. Buy 1, get 2 free boot shop on Broadway


7. Hello Vince Young! 


8. Beautiful magnolias everywhere


Nashville food post coming soon! 



Friday, May 13, 2011

Dining In: Durham, NC - Toast

We've had a wonderful few days in the 70's, which means it's perfect for outdoor dining. One place that I've only been once previously is Toast. It's a cute little sandwich and soup shop in downtown Durham nearly a few steps from another place I just reviewed here


The Husband had the NC Shrimp and Pancetta bruschetta with a side of artichoke and potato puree soup. 


I had the white anchovies, mixed baby greens, with lemon and what tasted liked garlic-infused olive oil over some toast. 


Can I just say that I've been on a hunt for white anchovies ever since? It was so delicious, refreshing, and light. I want to eat this every day! 

Have a glorious weekend! Hope you find some great eats. :) 




Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Grocery Bag Dispenser

One of my biggest pet peeves is having a cabinet stuffed with assorted grocery bags. Every time I open that specific cabinet all of the bags come tumbling out on to the kitchen floor and I have to spend time stuffing them back in. So for weeks I've been thinking about how I can create a grocery bag dispenser with the leftover green fabric from my other DIY project

I've been wanting to try some stenciling, as inspired by many of the DesignSponge DIY projects. So here was my first attempt. 


Sewing the dispenser was actually quite easy. It was the stenciling that was more difficult given the ridges on this canvas fabric. I used the tip of my scissors to smooth out the edges of the stencil. I think it worked out just fine. 




No more messy cabinets for me! 

Monday, May 9, 2011

Potato-Filled Samosas

After a tasty empanada attempt, I was inspired to make something vegetarian (and eventually vegan). Naturally, samosas came to mind when thinking about something yummy wrapped around something doughy. 

This recipe naturally also comes from "How to cook everything" by Mark Bittman. These samosas are potato filled, but you can have any variety of fillings. 

Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs baking potatoes (russet, idaho), cubed 1/2 inch
2 cups all-purpose flour, additional for kneading
1 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter
2 tbsp plain yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk
1 tbsp ice water, plus more as needed
1 cup onion, chopped
1 fresh chile, minced, or cayenne pepper to taste
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp peeled and minced/grated ginger
1/2 tbsp garam masala (not in original recipe, but was recommended in other recipes)
1/2 tbsp all-purpose curry powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup green peas (fresh/thawed)
vegetable oil for frying or lightly greasing baking sheet 

Directions
1. Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and let cool.

2. Place flour and 1 tsp salt in food processor, pulse a few seconds to mix. Cut half of butter into small pieces, add to the flour and turn on machine and let run until butter and flour are combined. Add yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk and pulse a few times. Then, with machine running, add ice water 1 tbsp at a time through feed tube. The instant the dough forms a ball, stop adding water. 



3. Knead the dough for 1 minute by hand, then cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside. 


4. Place remaining butter in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn to medium heat. Add onion and chile/cayenne and cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala and curry powder. Add salt and pepper and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add potatoes and peas, raise the head a little. Cook potatoes until they begin to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Let cool while you roll out the dough. 



5. Knead the dough for a few seconds, sprinkling it with a little flour if necessary. This is where I deviated from Bittman's recipe. Rip off a racquet ball-sized piece of dough and roll into a long oval. Then cut oval in half. 


6. Wet half of the flat edge and fold dough over to make a small "snow-cone" cup. Seal the seam with your fingers. Fill with potato and peas. Don't over fill or you will get samosas that pop open. 


7. Wet the rounded edge of the dough and fold it down over the potatoes and peas. Seal tightly. Here is a video demonstrating this "pyramid technique." 



8. Either fry in vegetable oil or lightly grease a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. I would add either an egg white or milk wash to enhance the browning, as the unwashed samosas below are a little sad and pale. 


Spicy, curry-filled, and delicious goodness in a bite-sized package. These are also fabulous with mango or any kind of chutney. 


Enjoy your Monday!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Strawberry Fields

One of my favorite things about the spring is strawberry picking. With all of the local farms in the area, there is no shortage of strawberries ripe for the picking. A friend and I headed out to Lyons Farm this past weekend and went home happy with our baskets of loot. 





I'm not sure how many pounds of fresh strawberries I picked, but all of this cost only $5!

Here are a few pointers that we learned this weekend:

1. Pick less ripe strawberries first so they don't get squashed as your basket grows.

2. Bring your own buckets, boxes, or baskets as some farms charge for them.

3. Pick only what you can eat for the week or have strawberry recipes handy because these fresh strawberries will spoil quickly.

4. Don't skip over ripe strawberries in your row.

5. Do bring friends!

To find a strawberry farm near you, look here.

Have a fabulous weekend!